Ketti Camus

Ketti Camus was born in Safed, and it was the particular magic of the city that first drew her to art as a young girl. She went on to study art and design, and has made her home in Safed’s Old City, where she lives and works to this day. For Ketti, art has never been separate from life: in her own words, her work is an expression of her way of life.

Over the years she has worked in watercolour, acrylic and oil, moving freely between a classic decorative style and open, free-form expression. Bold, vibrant colour runs through everything she makes, as does a wide range of Jewish and universal themes.

It is for her work in paper that Ketti first became best known. She developed a three-dimensional cut-paper technique to a very high standard, building intricately cut, multi-layered compositions combined with paint, some of them on a miniature scale. In these pieces she brings together the opposites of abstraction and fine detail, a reflection of her optimism, her joie de vivre and her belief that opposing forces can, in the end, meet in peace.

In recent years her art has evolved significantly, carrying the same vivid colour and love of layered depth into metal. Her newer work includes mixed-media metal plates, rich in colour and distinctive surface texture, and large three-dimensional wall sculptures cut from metal, built up in dimensional shapes and layers. Her work also extends into sculpture.

Ketti and her husband, the photographer and painter Tomer Camus, run Camus Gallery, “Art & Soul”, on Beit Yosef Karo Street in the Old City of Safed. Her work is held in private collections and public institutions around the world.